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Archives of Past Alerts and Announcements


Tip of the Week: Mac to PC Powerpoint Troubleshooting

Many students use MS Powerpoint to aid with presentations for classes and activities. A common issue that students have been asking about lately is that images and video added on a Mac don't show up on PCs. Mac users can drag and drop images into Powerpoint. However, when opening the presentation on a PC, images that have been dragged and dropped will show up with the error message similar to "QuickTime(TM) and a TIFF decompressor are needed to see this picture." Even if you have Quicktime installed, the files will not show up on a PC.

How to fix the problem:

For Image Files, save the image file in a convenient location on your computer. Select "Insert," then select "Picture," and then select "From File." Browse your computer to find the image file and insert! This should solve the problem.

Video files present a slightly more complex challenge. Follows these steps to add video files:

If you have any more questions about creating Mac to PC compatible Powerpoint files, come see an ACE! Check our Office Hours for the most up to date schedule. Happy Powerpoint-ing!


Want to send a mass email?

Due to the 15 recipient limit for each email, it can be tricky to send an email to a large group of people using Barnard webmail. This limit was set to prevent spamming, but we know that some students need to send mass emails for classes or student groups. If you need to send an email to more than 15 students, you'll need to set up an email client, such as Thunderbird, where there's no recipient limit. To learn more about setting up Thunderbird, check out our Thunderbird Setup Page.

Students who want to email their whole class on a regular basis may also want to ask their professors to set up a Group of all the students in the class on Courseworks. They can contact the Help Desk if they need more information on how to do this.

If you have any questions about setting up Thunderbird, other clients, or about sending mass emails using Barnard webmail, please contact us.


Email Client Update!

A security modification will be made soon to the Barnard email system that requires some Barnard faculty, staff, and students to make a change to their email program in order to be able to send email using their Barnard email account. You only need to make a change if you are using an email client, like outlook or applemail, to send your mail. You can find instructions on the change on our site. Please remember that this is not important if you use webmail to send your emails. Please Contact us with any questions.


PHISHING SCAM! PLEASE READ!

We have received *many* reports regarding an email starting
"We are currently performing maintenance for our Digital mail Account holders due to the rate of identity informations problems being encountered by our mail account holders."

The message asks you to reply and enter your password and email address. Do Not Respond to this message.

It is yet another phishing scheme. Please remember: neither Barnard nor Columbia will ever ask for your password in an email. Never reply to any message that does.

If you sent your password to these spammers, please come in to the LCC immediately. If you cannot do so, please call Resnet immediately at (347) 694-4694.

The LCC is open M-F 9AM-5PM over the summer and is located on the first floor of Lehman Library.

June 20th, 2008


Wireless Updates!

As most of you know by now, many dorms on Barnard's campus have secure and unsecure wireless. This year, Barnard Quad, Elliott Hall, 616 and Plimpton dorms have secure wireless.

To login onto the secure wireless, you will need to follow a set of instructions, from our network information page. Your login is your Barnard ebear login and password. If you have problems after going through the instructions, please come to our Office Hours.


New and Returning Students...

Welcome Class of 2012! This website is full of old and new information on the technological services available to you.

Speaking of technology available to you, check out the 24 hour computer labs located in the basement of the first year dorms! All other labs are open as well. You'll need to log in using your Columbia University Network ID (UNI), if you need instructions to activate it, check out our New Student Info page, where you'll also be able to find more information and tips specifically relevant to you.

As new students at Barnard, we ask that you complete the Mandatory Computer Setup so that your computer (and our network) is best protected from viruses, adware, spyware, hackers and bots; you know, the usual network predators.

Students now have access to secure wireless networks in the Barnard Quad, Elliott, Plimpton and 616, named according to their location. For instructions on how to connect to secure wireless see our network information page.

If you do not live in an area with secure wireless, you will need an ethernet cable to connect to our network. Plug one end into your computer, and the other into the orange jack in your wall. Wireless is also available on green spaces on campus, in the library, and many classrooms. A map of wireless locations on campus is available.

And as always, if you ever have questions or concerns, or if you are just curious on how to be a better computer user, please contact us! We can be reached by email, phone, and Skype. Also, Academic Computing Experts hold Office Hours in all of our labs throughout the week, so stop by with questions, or just to say hi!


10 Computer Facts Every Barnard Student Should Know

  1. Make sure that you follow our Mandatory Computer Set up. This will keep you and everyone else on our network safe from viruses and spam.
  2. Make sure to delete and purge your email messages so that you do not go over quota and get locked out of your email account. Take those big pictures out of your email and put them on computer and in another backup!
  3. On that note: Back- up! As students, we write a lot, and losing 40 pages of work is not fun.
  4. Barnard College will never ask for your confidential information (passwords, credit card numbers etc.) over email. Emails that ask for this information are most often scams, and can endanger both your safety and the safety of everyone on the Columbia/ Barnard network.
  5. Download and use the virus protection softwares from our website. Protecting yourself from viruses and spyware is necessary to keep your computer working, as well as the Columbia/ Barnard network clean. If you get a virus, you can pass it on to others over the network.
  6. You can be MAC-captured for two reasons: a virus from your computer spreading to the network or a copyright violation. Contact us when you see the capture screen and we can tell you what you need to do to get back on the network. Be sure not to go on the network at all (wireless or wired) when you captured.
  7. Right now, the Quad, Elliott, Plimpton and 616 dorms are outfitted for secure wireless. If you live in one of those dorms, make sure that you are using the network specific to your location (i.e. Barnard QUad), and not the "Barnard College" guest network. Use the instructions to login.
  8. If your ethernet jack is not working, and it looks physically broken, tell us so that we can fix it for you.
  9. Reset your ebear password (which is your email password as well) every year or six months. Follow our guidelines for good passwords.
  10. If you have any questions, contact us by email at resnet@barnard.edu, by phone at 347-694-4694, or come in to our during Office Hours.

Spam Got You Down?

One way to prevent spam is to AVOID clicking on 'unsubscribe' links on spam emails. Spammers use these links to confirm that their emails are reaching real people. When you click you let them know that you are a good target for spam. See Spamhaus for more information about Spam Unsubscribe Services.

Another way to better filter your spam and protect yourself against spammers is to use an email client. Email clients often prevent spam from downloading images and other potentially harmful files that let spammers know that you're reading their emails.

You can also filter spam through Webmail. There is general spam information at AT's Spam and Annoying Emails Page.


Columbia CUIT Alerts

You can find Columbia computing, network, and email alerts on the Columbia University Information Technology Alerts page.